Scientists, Professors, Marine Biologists, Conservation Professionals ~ all estimate more than 120 million gallons of oil was spilled into the gulf in the first month after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon ~ significantly more that the original 6 million gallon estimate BP released earlier. Subsequent to the release of the larger estimates by these experts, the company has now declined to estimate the amount of oil spilling into the sea daily. To say that the public has been misled as to the severity of the “spill” is an understatement.

There is also speculation in some quarters that the ineptitude of the measures taken to cap the well, to date, illustrate that BPs priority is saving the well rather than stopping the oil gushing in to the gulf.

I hope that isn’t true, but in light of the company’s “efforts” to contain the spill and stop the flow of oil, so far, one can’t help but wonder.

The following video was recorded on May 21st, a full month after the explosion that injured 17 people and killed 11.

As it is, the dead and injured of the Deepwater Horizon explosion were just the first casualties of this ongoing assault against the earth. Many more lives will be lost before the final repercussions of the spill are realized.

The oil itself will continue to spread through the eco-system across the earth, as tidal waters carry it into the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, the arctic, and ultimately through all the seas of the world. Like all systemic toxins, the poisons will insinuate themselves into every form and aspect of life ~ everywhere. For many species of life, the Deepwater Horizon spill may well be an extinction level event.

Wildlife rescue workers are already doing what they can to de-oil birds they can catch along the shore. The dolphins and sea turtles are apparently on their own, as are all the other species of marine life that live under the surface ~ or have done up until now. And this is only the beginning of the devastation, illness, and death.

As seen and heard in the video, the “clean up” effort is making use of even deadlier chemical toxins to “disperse” the oil. In addition to making rescue workers ill through inhaling it, it appears that the chemicals don’t really disperse the oil but simply keep it all from coming to the surface.

And I have to say, even if it did disperse the oil, what good is that? Is the intent to speed it on its way into the oceanic eco-system? To use a completely inadequate analogy: that’s like cleaning wood furniture with a feather duster. You don’t really get rid of the dust you just stir it up so it wafts away to settle on some other surface. How is that kind of “clean up” helping to stop the spill and ameliorate its effects?

Additional victims of the spill are rescue workers and others exposed to the chemicals that were being sprayed over the gulf waters to disperse the oil. The EPA has now put a stop to the spraying of those chemicals, but what of those already affected by them?

We’ll take a closer look at those ripple effects in tomorrow’s post. Stay tuned.

See you on the green ~

Rebecca

To learn about clean energy alternatives to oil and other fossil fuels, see these articles.

California Democrat and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told reporters Tuesday that the still uncontrolled spill resulting from the explosion of Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig should be taken into consideration, but should not be used as an excuse to delay the passing of a comprehensive energy reform bill.

The April 20th explosion of the Deepwater Horizon claimed the lives of 11 people who were on the rig and were later reported “missing and assumed dead,” and that’s just the beginning of the losses that are being and will be incurred by this environmental disaster.

The as yet uncontrolled spill, estimated to be pumping some 42,000 gallons of crude oil into the sea each day, throws into sharp relief the need for less dangerous, and less invasive, clean energy alternatives like wind and solar power.

“Images of last week’s explosion and the growing, uncontrolled spill made the bill’s road to approval much more difficult [because it includes continued off-shore drilling rights]. The threat it poses to wildlife and the economy has forced many wavering lawmakers to reconsider whether they support more offshore drilling,” says an Associated Press release today.

And well it should.

Fellow California Democrat, Rep. George Miller, unhappy with the offshore oil industry’s current emergency response system, feels even more strongly about the influence this recent disaster should have on the energy bill.

Miller spoke with some heat about the industry’s lack of any effectual emergency plan and called for a “critical reanalysis” of our ability to prevent and clean up future offshore oil disasters to be added to the energy bill.

Meanwhile, on the more positive side. The Good Jobs, Green Jobs conference also brought together over 100 businesses and conducted more than 100 workshops and panel discussions on green initiatives in other employment sectors.

Green Building ~ Architects Indispensable to America’s Green Future

Also in attendance at Good Jobs, Green Jobs 2010 was American Institute of Architects president George H. Miller, who stressed the importance of environmentally responsible design and construction of buildings to the green economy and increasing employment opportunities.

“Buildings and their construction [account] for nearly half of all greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumed in this country,” said Miller, continuing to say that, if passed, certain bills “introduced this Congressional session . . . could help create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the design and construction industries-and go a long way toward curbing energy use.”

The Good Jobs, Green Jobs 2010 National Conference has drawn thousands of visitors over the past two days and ends this afternoon. It has apparently been about presenting what is possible, going forward toward a green future.

Let’s hope the Good Jobs, Green Jobs 2011 National Conference is, at least in part, about displaying the results of seeing some of those possibilities through to fruition.